The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Captain Amarinder Singh’s newly formed Punjab Lok Congress are expected to finalise seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Punjab elections 2022 on Monday. Sources said the BJP would be the senior partner in the alliance.
As per BJP sources, the top brass will meet on Monday, December 27 to iron out the seat-sharing arithmetic and zero in on the seats that can be set aside for candidates from Amarinder Singh’s party. The Punjab Assembly has a total of 117 seats.
While senior leaders believe that the former chief minister’s decade of experience will come handy in understanding the dynamics in each constituency, the Captain is not in a position to bargain much.
The major share of the seats in the alliance will likely go to the BJP, which, given its experience with long-time ally Shiromani Akali Dal, wants to expand and strengthen its organisation in the state.
“We will not play chhota bhai (younger brother) to anyone in the state,” a senior leader said.
Sources said not many in the party believe that Amarinder Singh has the command and support of his people, including voters in his hometown Patiala.
Amarinder Singh had faced an unceremonious exit as Punjab chief minister in September amid a bitter power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. The grand old party had then replaced Amarinder with Charanjit Singh Channi, following which the Captain quit the Congress to float his own party.
“There were supposed to be many leaders who should have left the Congress with him, but that didn’t happen. However, there will be some coming to the BJP when neglected by the Congress during ticket distribution,” a source said.
The BJP is also playing it safe and not betting on Amarinder as the alliance’s chief ministerial candidate. In an interview to CNN-News18, BJP election in- charge in the state and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the results “will surprise everyone” in this election.
Sources added that the party will work on campaign details with the top brass on December 28. “The programs, rallies and jan sabhas of top leaders are going to be finalised too,” said a senior leader.
While the recently repealed farm laws and drugs cases weigh heavy on the elections, latest developments like the Ludhiana court blast and the lynching of sacrilege accused in Kapurthala and Amritsar have injected more adrenaline to the heated race.
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